Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Sold by Oberweis Asset Management Inc.

Oberweis Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 275,888 shares of the company’s stock after selling 60,826 shares during the period. Weatherford International makes up about 0.9% of Oberweis Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Oberweis Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $19,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Weatherford International by 181.7% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,303,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,334,000 after acquiring an additional 840,456 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,402,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,375,000 after acquiring an additional 298,811 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter valued at $560,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 33,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,396,000 after acquiring an additional 4,908 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Weatherford International by 282.1% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 9,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $684,000 after acquiring an additional 7,055 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Weatherford International news, EVP Depinder Sandhu sold 14,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.41, for a total value of $929,740.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,892 shares in the company, valued at $590,517.72. The trade was a 61.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $675,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,835.04. This trade represents a 32.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 87,930 shares of company stock valued at $5,861,718. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Price Performance

WFRD stock opened at $41.74 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $52.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 6.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70. Weatherford International plc has a 1 year low of $36.74 and a 1 year high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. Equities analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is 14.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFRD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James lowered their price target on Weatherford International from $97.00 to $73.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Weatherford International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.75.

Weatherford International Profile

Weatherford International plc, an energy services company, provides equipment and services for the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil, geothermal, and natural gas wells worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Drilling and Evaluation; Well Construction and Completions; and Production and Intervention.